Examined the efficacy of a causal model suggesting that lack of a violence inhibitor when confronted with distress cues may explain psychopathic behavior. Compared to control subjects, the psychopaths made no moral/conventional distinction about transgressions, treated conventional transgressions like moral transgressions, and were much less…

A neuroimaging study examined brain activity of normal subjects performing story comprehension tasks necessitating the attribution of mental states. Brain activity was compared with that from two control tasks. Comparison of the "theory of mind" stories with "physical" stories revealed a specific pattern of activation associated with mental state…

Examines issues related to current practice in early childhood special education in light of developmentally appropriate practice (DAP). Focuses on the appropriateness of DAP principles to the education of young children with disabilities, specifically the importance placed on play in mainstream early education and whether this can be transferred…

Examines the factors that contribute to quality child care for children with special needs, and relates these factors to the 52 principles in the accreditation document of Australia's National Childcare Accreditation Council. (HTH)

Reviews current research about families of young children with disabilities, and raises issues related to the actual application of this knowledge at both policy and practice levels. Notes that a deficit model has guided much of the study of young children with disabilities, but that alternative conceptual perspectives, advocating a…

Identifies a continuum of instructional strategies to promote the entry of children with moderate-to-severe disabilities into regular preschool classrooms. The continuum is based on the concept of power judgements, which result in the use of strategies that are likely to produce the desired effect with the lowest expenditure of effort, resources,…

Discusses characteristics of pretend play and how it can be used to help children with disabilities interact with their typically developing peers. Includes specific play activities and suggestions for teachers. Notes that available play space, number of toys available, and amount of time allowed also influence participation in pretend play. (HTH)

Determined the supports used and the services needed by families of young children with disabilities. Found that while agencies are striving for family-focused service delivery, this goal is not being reliably achieved in a holistic way. Results suggest the need for different patterns of family support depending on the type and degree of the…

Discusses an activity-based approach to working with children with disabilities. Suggests that the strategies and planning involved in including a special needs child in an early childhood setting are the same as those used for planning programs for any child, but require a greater amount of detail. (HTH)

Two studies examined whether individual faces are perceived categorically. A linear continuum of "morphed" faces was generated between individual exemplars of familiar faces. Subjects, undergraduate students, discriminated most accurately when face-pairs straddled apparent category boundaries; thus individual faces are perceived categorically.…

Contrasts Fodor's theory of children's Very Simple Theory of Mind, with the view that children's concepts cross-cut the adult conceptual system: young children do not distinguish between the state of affairs a belief is about and how this state of affairs is thought of, which puts a severe limit on their understanding of belief as distinct from…

Deceptive box experiments showed that when children see the expected contents before the boxes are changed, it is easier to report their own and a puppet's initial true belief, but also a puppet's current false belief. Results support the "reality masking hypothesis," that facilitation is due to the belief option being linked with a physical…

Reviews research on the determinants and the effects of parents' attributions. The evidence suggests that parents do form attributions for their children's behavior; these attributions vary in predictable ways across judges (mothers versus fathers), targets (age or sex of child), and behavior outcomes (positive or negative); and attributions…

Tested a conceptual model developed explaining the link between kinship support and the psychological well-being of economically disadvantaged African American families. Found that kinship social support to mothers or female guardians was positively associated with adolescent psychological well-being, maternal well-being, and more adequate…

Substance use and delinquency, well-being, and social support were compared across 5 family constellations among 254 adolescent black males. The only difference found was that subjects living in single-mother households reported more parental support than those from other family structures. Data on father/male role model relationships challenged…